The Gorgon's Return
by ablondeinaunionjack
Summary: Going to the Tintagel meeting was probably a bad idea, but Cassandra just couldn't help herself. It's her last chance for closure - but the only way she can get it is from her estranged son...Sequel to The Gorgon's Regrets.


**This is dedicated to CopyCatsHurtfulKisses for her awesomeness, Surprise Adoption and time machine stealing assistance :D**

Cassandra Lang walked up to the ruins of Tintagel castle, careful to stay in the shadows so that she wouldn't be noticed. She was already having second thoughts about attending the Society meeting – nobody would welcome her, least of all her family – but she had a strange longing to just see the gathering once more. She had parked her caravan out of sight and crept up to the ruins after the main rush of companions had subsided, so that she wouldn't be noticed, and she planned to hide behind the gorse bushes to watch the proceedings, assuming that if she showed her face she would automatically be turned away. If she was recognized. The loss of her son, her removal from the Society and Kullervo's displeasure had taken their toll on her face, and she was much thinner and paler than she had been when she had kidnapped Connie. Her curly blonde hair was lank and needed a trim, as it now reached her waist, and her icy eyes were surrounded by dark shadows, as though she hadn't slept for weeks; which was indeed the case. Even spending time with her companion didn't seem to help her much. The one thing she needed, she had decided, was closure. She had to talk to Col personally this time, and apologise to his face. If he still hated her, which was likely, then she could leave and then it would be over with. If he forgave her…Cassandra sighed. _If_ he forgave her, she would still have to leave before she ruined his life for the third time. It wasn't safe, she only messed things up for her young; and she refused to let that happen again.  
"Mack, come on! We'll be late!" yelled a voice, startling the gorgon companion. It was one that she recognized well, the voice of her replacement Evelyn Lionheart – Evelyn Clamworthy now, she supposed. "Connie's going to kill us, you know she's about to make her speech!"  
"I'm coming! God, this thing weighs a ton, what did you _put_ in here, Evie? We're only here for a few hours, I'm sure George isn't going to need all this stuff," retorted the voice of Cassandra's ex-husband as he struggled after his new wife.  
"Only his nappies, and his dummies, and some toys, and-"  
"The only thing you didn't pack was the cot!"  
"Fine, you see how George reacts if he doesn't have his fluffy penguin. You know how much he loves it."  
At that moment there was a wail. Cassandra was forcefully reminded of Col when he was a baby, mewling in his little cot until his mother came to rock him…She blinked and shook her head, dismissing the thought.

"There, there, Georgie, it's okay," soothed Evelyn. "You've upset him now, Mack! Pass me the penguin."  
There was some grumbling and rustling. Cassandra assumed that the penguin had been passed over because the baby George had stopped crying slightly – she still couldn't see the trio clearly because of the prickly bushes separating them.  
"There, George, it's fine now, isn't it?" cooed Evelyn softly.  
Cassandra decided she had heard enough and stumbled further up the rabbit track she was using to reach the top of the cliff. She almost fell when her foot was caught in a hole and had to grab hold of a gorse branch to steady herself, letting out an involuntary cry as it prickled her skin. Breathing heavily, her heart pounding, she stopped to see whether anybody had heard her.  
"What was that?" asked Mack.

"What?" responded Evelyn.  
"Those bushes just rustled."  
"Oh, I don't know. Probably a rabbit or something. Don't worry about it, Mack."  
"I thought I heard something…"  
"Leave it, we've got to get to the castle! We've only got five minutes!"  
"Oh, fine," snapped Mack, obviously returning to the path to follow his wife.

Cassandra managed to breathe again, and continued up towards the castle. When she reached the plateau, she froze again as she saw all of the familiar faces of the Hescombe Society – Dr. Brock and Lavinia Clamworthy standing by the fire with drinks; the Mastersons clustered around a trestle table, chattering; that boy Sean Ratcliffe that her son was friends with; and Connie Lionheart, with Col. Cassandra bit her lip as she watched them, effortlessly fitting in with their fellow members of the Society from as far away as Scotland, all of whom had been invited to the meeting. _Invited_. That was the crucial word, as far as Cassandra was concerned. She had received nothing, no messages, not even a word from her son. Not that she blamed him, of course, it was her fault that she was cast out in the first place – but still, it smarted that she seemed to be the only companion in the entire United Kingdom who hadn't been invited. She moved a little closer, still screened by the bushes, so that she could eavesdrop on their conversation.  
"I'm so nervous!" Connie was saying.  
"You'll be fine," reassured Col. "They'll love you."  
"I'm not sure I want to do this any more…" she trailed off uncertainly.  
"It's only a little speech."  
"That's easy for you to say, you're not doing it!"  
"Well, yeah, but-"  
They were interrupted by a loud clink as one of the Trustees tapped their glass with a spoon – Cassandra couldn't quite see who it was – in a call for silence. They were obeyed.  
"Friends," began a voice, and Cassandra could hear that it was Kinga Potowska, High Flyers Trustee. "Thank you for coming. There will shortly be entertainments, but first our universal would like to make a speech."  
There was a burst of applause. Curiously, Cassandra raised her head above the gorse to watch Connie, who was shaking with nerves.  
"Um…well…good evening," she began hesitantly, blushing bright red before she'd even started. "As you all know, I'm still being trained by Gard-" here she nodded to the rock dwarf, who bowed his head in response – "to fight off any followers of Kullervo who might still be around, and, er, so that I'm better able to understand my powers. I'd just like to thank everyone here for their valiant efforts to get rid of the shape-shifter, and I'm very happy to be leading the Society into the New Year free of Kullervo so that we can get on with the happier things in life, like the feast we're about to have! So, um, yeah, that's all I wanted to say."  
Connie looked away from her feet, which she'd been gazing steadily at for the entire speech, as the applause started and suddenly noticed Cassandra's blonde head over the dark green bush. Cassandra ducked away, cursing herself for being so foolish as to be noticed. As the clapping faded away, Connie cleared her throat and raised her voice again.  
"Sorry, just one more thing – we have an unexpected guest with us tonight. I know some of you may know her already, and hold…certain things against her, but please – for my sake – welcome her for this one night. Cassandra?"  
Connie turned her head to the bush, behind which Cassandra was sitting completely still. She had just been called out in front of every single British companion…this was not at all what she had wanted. She'd planned to sidetrack Col and tell him everything, but now she was being dragged out to talk to all the people who hated her...She stood up sharply.  
"I am not welcome here. I'll leave now," she croaked.  
"Nonsense," responded Connie authoritatively. "You have to stay, Cassandra. Please."  
Cassandra hesitated, unsure as to what she should do.  
"Come on, Cassandra," entreated another voice – the voice of Kira Okona, although it took a slightly harder tone than usual. "I think you should stay here, for now, to explain yourself."  
Cautiously, the gorgon companion skirted around the gorse bush and stood in front of the ranked Trustees, who were all staring at her.  
"Well?" said Kinga, harshly. "What have you got to say for yourself?"  
Lee Chan, Elemental Trustee, put his hand warningly on her arm. "Be calm, Kinga. Let her speak in own time."  
Cassandra took a deep breath. "I'm here to talk to my son. To apologise to all of you, really. Because I know now what I did was wrong, and there isn't a day that goes by now when I don't regret it. I just…I just wanted to tell Col that I'm sorry, and I never meant to hurt him or the universal."  
Col looked surprised by the use of his shortened name, but didn't say anything and continued to avoid his mother's gaze.  
"I don't want to stay here for long," continued Cassandra, glancing back at Col sadly, "I just wanted you to know how I felt. I'm going to disappear now; you'll probably never see me again, and that won't be a bad thing. So…I'm sorry. And goodbye."  
She turned to leave, but Connie quickly moved forward to stop her.  
"Please, Cassandra, stay for just a little longer," she pleaded. "Just until I can talk to Col, get him to listen to you."  
"No, I don't want to get in anyone's way."  
"Cassandra, please. I'm sure I can get Col just to speak to you…"  
"Could I just have a moment?" interrupted Kinga.  
Cassandra nodded weakly, and the Sea Snakes Trustee pulled Connie over to one side.  
"Is this entirely wise?" she queried.  
"Cassandra deserves a chance," said Connie firmly.  
"But she locked you up – she tried to kill you, Connie!" protested Kira, appearing at Kinga's side.  
"So I should be the only one who's allowed to choose, shouldn't I?" asked Connie, folding her arms defiantly.  
The Trustees exchanged doubtful glances. Kinga sighed.

"Fine. But she can't stay for long."  
"Thank you." Connie moved away from the group and back to Cassandra, who was looking lost and despairing.  
"Please, let me leave," requested the gorgon companion.

"No," responded Connie immediately. "You have to talk to Col."  
Cassandra sighed. "He'll never talk to me. He hates me. You remember what I told you last time, and it still applies. He won't even look at me now."  
"Cassandra, if one person can convince him, then…I think it's me. Just let me try. I can't watch you walk away and leave this thing unfinished."  
"You may try. But you will fail, I'm sure."  
Leaving the woman standing forlornly at the edge of the crowd, Connie made her way towards her boyfriend, who was gazing into the fire as though it held the answers to his predicament.  
"Col?"  
He started. "What? Oh, Connie. Has she gone?"  
"No. And I won't let her go until you've spoken to her."

Col stared at her as if she'd gone mad. "W-what?"  
"You have to talk to her, she's your mother."

"Connie, she's a psychopath," he responded flatly.  
"You remember what I told you last time? When she was there? She's sorry, she really is."  
"Yeah? Well, sorry isn't good enough. Not this time."  
His face took on a closed look, as though he had decided to end the discussion.  
"Col, give her a chance. She was being controlled, she thought it was the best thing for her companion," protested Connie desperately.  
"That just proves she cares more about her gorgon than she does for her family."  
"Would you be able to make that choice? What would you choose, Skylark or your dad?" snapped Connie. "She couldn't have made that decision and not upset somebody."  
"It's not just that. It's not like this is the first time she's betrayed me. She abandoned me when I was little, she chose her companion over me, and then she tried to kill you. She's used up all of her chances now."  
Connie reached up and forced Col to look at her, turning his head gently with her hand.  
"Col…for me, will you please just talk to her? Just a few sentences, and then she'll leave. That's all I want."  
"Fine. But I know exactly what she'll say."  
He followed Connie back to Cassandra, who looked up as they approached with a half-sigh.  
"Col," she said immediately. "I know that you don't want me here, and I know that nothing I could say now could possibly make up for what I've done. But I just want you to know that I regret everything. Taking Connie, giving you to Kullervo – abandoning you when you were a baby. If I could take it all back I would, but all I can do now is hope that this will be enough for you to…understand. I don't expect forgiveness, obviously; all I want is for you to know that I'm sorry. I promise that this is the last time you'll ever see me – properly, this time. I'm never going to intrude again."  
Cassandra turned her head away from him, preparing to leave. Connie gave Col a significant look and nodded to his mother.  
"Come on, Col. You owe her that much. It can't have been easy for her, coming here tonight," she whispered.  
Col met her gaze and knew she was right. However he felt about his mother now, he should at least show that he had acknowledged her apology. He cleared his throat awkwardly and moved towards Cassandra.  
"Um…" he began hesitantly.  
"Yes?" responded Cassandra, looking at him as though she was afraid of what she might see.  
"I…I think I understand," he managed, studying the ground intently as he searched for words. "And…thanks for telling me that. For having the guts to come here, instead of staying away and hoping that everything would solve itself." He finally summoned the courage to look up and saw that his mother's eyes were shining with tears.

Cautiously, he hugged her, as though he was afraid she might break if he tightened his loose grip. Heartened, Cassandra held him tightly, tears spilling from her eyes.  
"Oh, Col," she whispered. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."  
"I know, Mum. I know," he replied gently.  
As the rest of the Society meeting carried on around them, Cassandra knew that she'd found what she'd been craving. Acceptance. Not from the Society, but from the only person who mattered now.  
"I've missed you, Col," she murmured.  
"I've missed you too, Mum," replied Col. "We should do this more often."  
Cassandra felt a sudden jolt of surprise as she realized that that was the first time her son had called her Mum for years, and hugged him tighter.  
"Yes," she agreed softly, a true smile curving her thin lips for the first time in weeks. "We should." 

**This is a post for Project PULL, set up by Bookaholic711. For more infor****mation visit my profile. Thanks and Merry Christmas!**


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